


The Girl Who Survived

by mishmewisha



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Fighting, Hatchetfield Universe, Multi, Starkid - Freeform, apotheosis, team starkid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mishmewisha/pseuds/mishmewisha
Summary: Have you ever wondered what Melissa did during the apotheosis? Because I have!A fun delve into the headcanon that Melissa survived!also ngl i did not proofread this whatsoever so I might rewrite it someday to not be bad
Relationships: Doug/Melissa (The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12





	1. And so it begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning the apotheosis begins but instead of following Paul Matthews, we follow Melissa who I have given the last name Clarke if you're wondering. Hope you enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there's no graphic violence in this chapter or anything but melissa does throw some hits at the end so be aware!

Melissa was a normal person. She had a job in an office, she worked nine to five, and she lived with her partner. Nothing was weird about that. She liked that. She liked the routine. She liked knowing she could go into the office every day and everything would be ordinary. Paul would talk about the barista down the street, Bill would talk about Alice, Ted and Charlotte would shoot each other suggestive looks, and Mr. Davidson would be himself. That was the weirdest part but it happened every day so it was ordinary.

Everything was going perfectly fine. It was a Friday morning and Mr. Davidson had called her over to his office. 

“Alright, Melissa, I’m going to give you this list. These are all the people I want to see in my office by the end of the day.” He slid a piece of paper across his desk towards her, and she of course picked it up. She didn’t like seeing her name at the top but she assumed that it was just because he wanted to give her this list. She looked closer and noticed that the list had the name of every employee in the office. Weird.

“Okay. I’ll start sending them in.” She left the room, starting to hear some weird humming come from inside. That was new.

The next ten minutes went smoothly. She sent in one person, who came out ten minutes later looking oddly chipper. Did their eyes get bluer? After that, she sent in a second, confused when they came out practically skipping with a bit of blue. . .slime? Dripping from their mouth. Alright, getting weirder. She sent in the third person, Paul Matthews, and when he came out practically sprinting out the door, she decided this was all too weird and she had to get some air. 

Melissa went outside, making sure to take her phone with her. She just wanted to call her partner and have a nice conversation. So, that’s just what she did. She found Doug’s contact and pressed call. She of course didn’t have to wait long for them to pick up. She never did.

“Hey, Mel!” Said Doug, a little sing-songy. “How’s it going?”

Melissa didn’t think anything of the sing songiness. She just wanted to talk to them. “It’s alright, I think. I don’t know. Mr. Davidson is asking me to send everyone in his office one by one and the ones that I’ve sent in so far have come out with, like, this weird twinkle in their eye? It’s weird. The only one that didn’t come out like that was Paul. He basically sprinted down the street when he came out.”

Melissa heard a whisper from the other side. Something about Paul. She couldn’t understand though and didn’t have time to ask before Doug spoke up again. “That’s weird, Mel. Maybe you should try going into his office and seeing what’s going on. Or if you need a break I can come to pick you up?” The sing-song stayed away from their voice until the end of their last sentence. Melissa felt pretty unsettled by it for some reason but did her best to not think anything of it.

“Alright. I’m outside the office if you’re gonna drop by. Be quick though. I want a hug.”   
  
She could just sense the grin on Doug’s face. Weird. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there in just a few minutes.” Melissa heard them hang up the call and put her phone down. She didn’t know why she was so unsettled by everything today. Weird

* * *

As usual, Doug didn’t make her wait long before they pulled up just outside the office and hopped out of their squad car. She could see Rob in the passenger seat but tried not to focus on it. It wasn’t the first time he had been in the car when Doug came to visit her at work. Why did it feel so weird now?

“Hey, Doug! You made it over- Whoa!” Doug had pulled her into their arms, putting them into a dance-like position. It made Melissa blush. They started swaying to a beat that Melissa didn’t know but Doug definitely did. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rob’s head bopping to the same beat. Okay. . . “Doug. . .what’s happening?”

“I just want to dance with my girlfriend. You’re just so beautiful. And I want to make you happy. Don’t you want to be happy?”   
  
Melissa felt Doug’s grip on her get tighter. Normally, she’d love that. But right now nothing was normal. She wasn’t sure what was happening though. “Doug, I am happy. What are you talking about?”

Doug shook their head. “No, baby, how could you be? You’re always complaining about your job or your family or your friends to me. I hear all that, you know?”

“Yeah, I know I talk about that with you. I’m still happy though. Sometimes I just want to rant.”

“You and I both know that’s not it.” Doug gently cupped her cheek, their other arm getting a bit tighter so Melissa wouldn’t move. “I can make you happy.” And then they started singing, which Melissa did not appreciate.

_ “Let’s have a good time, follow me into the sunshine. I have a surprise, take my hand and cover your eyes.” _

Melissa was really starting to get uncomfortable now. She didn’t know what was happening but she knew she didn’t want to be a part of it. “Doug, Doug, please stop it-”

_ “I wanna make your heart melt with joy.” _

“Doug, this isn’t you. What-” Melissa got cut off by her own little shriek. Doug had spun the both of them around a little too fast.

_ “I wanna see you light up like your childhood favorite toy.”  _

Melissa didn’t even have a chance to try and say something before Doug dipped her, forcing another shriek out of her. Melissa absolutely hated this. Just really hated this.

_ “I would give anything, just to make you happy.”  _

Doug started to go in for that sweet, sweet kiss, but that was when Melissa saw that blue glow in their eyes and a bit of blue dripping from their lips. Absolutely not. She successfully fought her way out of the dip, ending up on the ground for a moment before jumping to her feet and backing away. “Doug, I don’t know what’s going on but you’re really freaking me out.”

Doug pouted. They didn’t like having their song cut off. “Come on, Mel, it’s just me! Don’t you trust me?”   
  
Melissa shook her head, taking another step away. “No! I really don’t right now! I- I think I’m gonna go. You- I don’t know. I’ll see you later.” She turned to walk away but quickly flipped back around when she heard what Doug had to say.

“Rob, I’m gonna need some back up for this one.” 

Melissa’s eyes widened as she watched Rob get out of the squad car, the same blue glow in his eyes that the others had. This was obviously more than just some weird singing thing. “Guys, guys, what are you doing?” She slowly took another step back, doing her best to create as much distance as possible.

Doug stepped towards her while Rob started to move around behind her. “I just want you to be happy, Mel. Just come with me, okay?”

Melissa flipped her head between Rob and Doug a few times before settling on her partner for a moment. “No- no, I really just wanna get back to work, okay?” She glanced back at Rob for just a second.

Doug shook their head. “Sorry, baby, but I can’t allow that. Rob?” They gave Rob a look that mad Melissa extremely uncomfortable. But before she could protest, she felt Rob’s arms wrap around her and lift her up while she screamed. Yeah, these people definitely weren’t her friends anymore.

Doug strutted over to them, taking Melissa by the face so she’d look at them instead of squirming. “Oh, love, you know I don’t want to hurt you, but sometimes I just have to.”

Melissa didn’t get mad often, and even if she did, she had good ways to handle it. Though this time, her anger might get a little out there. Plus, Doug taught her some self-defense so she was feeling pretty prepared. “What if I hurt you first?” Before anyone could answer that, Melissa kicked Doug in the stomach and headbutted Rob. With that, she was free from Rob’s hold so she gave him one more kick before making a run for it. Whatever was going on was not something she wanted to be a part of.

She left Doug and Rob on the sidewalk, recovering from the blows they just took. Doug looked to Rob, a bit annoyed. “You seriously let her get away?!”

Rob stood up, brushing himself off. “I’m not the one that taught her how to fight!”

Doug huffed. “We were-” They heard their walkie talkie begin to come to life. Aha, Sam. They listened to the message they were getting before looking back at Rob. “We’ve got some more runaways a few blocks away. Let’s go get Sam and get going. We’ll worry about her later.”

Rob nodded and followed them into the car. He couldn’t believe that was going to be going on his permanent record.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa pretty spicy! melissa is a secret badass and I will stand by that. hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
> Song lyrics from 'I Want To Make You Happy' by Victory Boyd


	2. The preparation and the General

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa raids a 7/11 and meets a certain General who's trying to help out the tiny town of Hatchetfield. Ft more running from danger lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no graphic depictions of anything again but there are some guns fired at the end and implications of death

Melissa ran for awhile. She had no clue what was going on but she didn’t want to be apart of it. When she finally had to take a break, she stopped at the edge of the downtown area. She got some weird looks from people because she was panting like a dog at this point. At least she knew not everyone was a part of whatever was going on. She looked around. Most things did seem to be normal but she spotted a few too many broken windows and puddles of blue slime to feel at all comfortable. 

She cautiously walked further out of the downtown area, spotting a recently abandoned 7/11 with blue slime seeping from the gas nozzles and lights flickering on the inside. That’s nice. She looked around before heading inside the convenience store. Any of the slushie or hot dog machines that were previously functional were now covered in blue slime from top to bottom. Thankfully, the packaged food and drinks appeared to be untouched. She had a horrible feeling that she would need to go into survival mode at some point and she wanted to be prepared.

She hopped the counter and went into the employee lounge. As she hoped, there were some more useful things back there. She found a backpack with the name ‘Bea’ embroidered on the front and a baseball bat sticking out the top. That would come in handy. She felt a little bad about it but she cleared out all the extra bits of homework and notes from it and took the bag and bat for herself. 

With a new bag and weapon, she snuck back out into the main part of the store and grabbed as many energy bars and bottles of water as she could. It would be at least enough to last her a few days. She just wanted to be prepared, just in case. Something about her partner and their co-worker attacking her put her off enough to not go home for the next week just as a precaution. She might make a stop just to get out of her work clothes though.

With a bag of some necessities, she snuck back out onto the street. She could hear a catchy tune coming from just around the corner so she walked the few feet and went to peek, making sure to keep her bat firmly gripped in her hands. It was a whole crowd of people dancing and singing with more people around them just watching, thinking it was just a normal flashmob. She quietly watched and waited, just curious to see what the singing crowd would do. Based on her earlier experience she was expecting a whole fight scene, but that’s not what she witnessed. In fact, she watched whole families willingly join in on the performance, picking up on the harmonies and the dance moves a little too quickly. She shivered. Bleh.

She continued to watch in mild horror until she felt someone grab her shoulders and pull her back, sending a shriek out of her. That was enough to put her into fight or flight mode so she immediately jumped back, gripping her baseball bat like it was the only thing holding her in reality. That grip relaxed a bit when she saw it was someone who looked official. That made her feel better. 

“Who are you? I have a baseball bat and I swear I’m not afraid to use it.” Melissa’s shaking would say otherwise.

“Sorry to scare you, ma’am. The name’s General John McNamara.” He took a puff of his cigarette. “We’ve been getting reports of some musical disturbances if you will and we’re going around to talk to some locals about their experiences. Have any you’d care to share with us.” He pulled out a little box and pressed a button. Melissa knew it was recording so she went along with it.

“I- um. . .” She stood up a little straighter, lowering her bat. This felt official. “I went into work this morning and my boss asked me to send in people to his office so I did but every time they came out they had this bounce in their step and weird blue glow in their eyes. After a few rounds of that, I got freaked out so I went outside and called my partner. They’re a police officer so they came in the squad car with their co-worker. They started singing and then both them and their co-worker attacked me. I managed to make a run for it but only after I fought them off. After that, I ran till I reached this seven-eleven here and I grabbed some things just in case and now we’re here.”

The General nodded along with her story, taking into account every detail that she mentioned. He pressed the little button again and stopped his recording. “Thank you, ma’am. We’ve got a real mystery on our hand so the more information the better.” He was just about to go on before another official-looking soldier guy ran up and whispered something to him. Melissa couldn’t hear it, but she was a little scared. “Mhm. Mhm. Thank you. Ma’am, I would recommend getting very far away from here. Thank you for your service.” He walked past her into the street, the soldier following him. What she was not prepared for was for him to pull out his gun and start shooting at the crowd of singers that were still in the street.

Melissa put her hand over her mouth and shoved herself flat against the wall of the building she was next to to avoid the conflict as much as she could. She could hear the singing things getting angry and she could hear screams from people who definitely hadn’t joined. But the most haunting noises were the ones that stopped out of nowhere directly after a gunshot. 

Before she got too traumatized, she made a run for it again and ran till she found herself in the Hatchetfield trailer park. It was quiet, almost like no one had touched it for years. It was spooky though but only because she couldn’t tell if it was a good or bad quiet yet. Thank god for the baseball bat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoooo not the happiest with this chapter but that's a-okay lol. hope you enjoyed reading anyways uwu


	3. The calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa explores the trailer park and finds a nice change of clothes that are much better suited for fighting. While there, she meets a few teens and a kid who seems to be freaking out ever so slightly. So a bit more peaceful than the last two chapters lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings this time! unless you're scared of spiders? also sorry if lex, ethan, and hannah are ooc. I'm tired

Melissa peacefully explored the small trailer park. She spotted small bits of blue slime around the place so she knew the people that lived here were already gone. Because of that, she snuck into a few trailers and found a few things that would probably help out with the whole survival thing. That thought seemed to become more of a reality by the hour. She shook it off though. Everything would be fine. It had to be.

Since there was a calmness in the area, she took a break in one of the trailers and took some of the food. Hopefully whoever lived here didn’t show up and yell at her. Somehow that scared her more than the looming apocalypse that seemed to be taking over Hatchetfield. She should get her priorities straight. She did her best to get her mind off it though so she raided a closet in one of the trailers and found some more camping worthy clothes. She switched into a pair of cargo pants and a black t-shirt, along with some boots she found shoved in the back of the closet. That seemed a bit easier to kick ass in. She managed to find a pack of hair binders so she threw her hair up into a long ponytail too. At that point, all the adrenaline she had gotten from the fear she had during the day so far was starting to disappear and exhaustion was starting to take over. It wasn’t long before she passed out on the couch of one of the nicer trailers. Comfy.

She woke up nearly three hours later to the sound of voices outside. She almost got scared but it didn’t sound like they were singing. That was comforting. Kind of. She snuck out of the trailer and looked around till she spotted the source of the noise. Two teenagers trying to calm a panicking girl. She didn’t blame her for panicking. Today had been horrible. 

She very slowly approached the trio of children, not wanting to cause any more need for panic. As she got closer, she could hear the little girl muttering something about blue blood and a hive. Huh. She tapped the older boy's shoulder, which immediately made him jump to his feet and get ready to throw a punch. That move in turn made Melissa jump back and shake her head, dropping her baseball bat to the ground. 

“Whoa! Sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you! Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Melissa put her hands up like she was surrendering. This boy looked like he could beat her up and she would rather avoid that situation.

“Alright. . .and you’re not a part of that singing thing?” The boy asked, lowering his hands despite how tense he still was. 

Melissa shook her head. “No. I’ve spent all day trying to get away from the music. Um, I’m Melissa. By the way.”

Before anyone else could say anything, she heard the smallest of sobs come from the younger girl who was currently clinging onto the older girl like a lifeline. She could hear the older one trying her best to calm her. “Hey, banana, it’s okay. Mom’s gone now, remember?” The younger one shook her head at that. “Ethan, a little help here?”

The boy, known as Ethan, sat down on the ground again. He felt safe saying that this Melissa woman wouldn’t hurt them. “Hey, banana. Now that your mom’s gone we get to go to California. Away from this old town.” The girl just shook her head again. She seemed to have a lot going on. Melissa decided she might be able to help though.

She sat down on the ground next to them, much to the older girls' confusion. She just brushed it off. There were bigger issues at hand. “Hey there, kiddo. I’m Mel. What’s your name?”

“Hannah.” It was a small mumble but it worked.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hannah.” She smiled at the girl. “Something bothering you?” Melissa could just feel the two older teens staring at her.

Hannah nodded. “Webby says something bad is here.”

“Who’s Webby?” 

Ethan interjected on that one. “An imaginary spider from outer space.” The older girl shot him a look while Melissa went on. 

“Well, who says they’re imaginary? Here.” Melissa looked around for just a moment before spotting a little spider crawling across the ground. Aha. She carefully scooped it up, letting it crawl from hand to hand. “We’ve got these little guys here on earth so it makes complete sense that they’d be elsewhere in the universe.” Hannah seemed to take more notice of what she was saying when she saw the little spider crawling across her hands. That put a proud little smile on Melissa’s face. “I bet these little guys are even friends with your Webby.”

Hannah’s big brown eyes looked interested at that prospect. “Really?”

Melissa nodded. “Yeah, really. Here.” She carefully passed the little spider onto Hannah’s hands rather than her own. “If you’re ever feeling scared, just remember that these little guys are all around you, watching over everything that you do. They’ve got your back.”

Hannah nodded, her eyes focusing on the small spider now. Meanwhile, the older girl looked up at Melissa. “How did you do that?”

Melissa shrugged. “Just did what my gut told me. Usually works out.” She looked at the small group before standing up and brushing herself off. “I- uh, I should get going. I know I’m being looked for so you probably don’t wanna be around me.” She reached down and picked up her bat.

Ethan did a little salute. “Take care, Mel. Don’t start singing. We might need you to do that again.”

Melissa laughed softly. “I’ll do my best. Stay safe, you three.” She gave them a small smile before walking away from them and soon away from the trailer park. It was only a few minutes before she found herself in the forests of Hatchetfield. She never liked this place but she knew she’d be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooo three chapters in! it'll be a bit more exciting soon, promise. thanks for reading!


	4. Bangs and Booms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a calm time in the trailer park, Melissa moves outwards and sets up a bit of a camp in the forest as she watches helicopters fly overhead and has a little talk with what used to be Doug. It isn’t long till she hears one crash on the beach and the sound of a bomb an hour later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nothing too wacky here. just some frustration and she hears the helicopter crash and the explosion at the starlight.

Melissa stood in a small clearing in the middle of Hatchetfield's forest. She had gone on walks through the tall pine and oak trees many times throughout her life but she was never well acquainted with the area. If you weren't on the paths, it was a little too easy to get lost in the tall, dark trees. She looked around before finding an opening in the trees and heading into a denser part of the forest. She knew that in the forest and near the lake were cabins and lake houses that families would stay in to get away, so it wasn’t all that surprising to her when she found a treehouse in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. That would work for the night. Just a bit of impromptu camping. In a tree. That wasn’t weird.

With a little, er, a lot of struggle, she managed to climb up the rope and onto the little platform. She could tell no one had been up here in years. It was small but covered in dust and leaves. It had a small hammock and table though, and even a few books with serious water damage. It would work. 

She set her bag and bat down before sitting on the floor. She didn’t quite trust the hammock yet. Feeling safe and alone, she pulled out her phone for the first time since that morning. She wasn’t too surprised to see over 100 texts from Doug. Of course. All stuff about how sorry they were and that they just wanted a kiss and all that stuff. Melissa scrolled through all of them. It made her feel a little bad for kicking them in the stomach but sometimes it just has to be done. She still loved Doug, a lot, and because of it, she did send a response. Even though she knew it was a bad idea. The apologetic texts from them were probably just an act. But she still felt bad.

  
  


Melissa → Doug

sorry for kicking you earlier

Melissa → Doug

in my defense, you were trying to attack me

Melissa → Doug

and told your co-worker to attack me

Melissa → Doug

in case you forgot

Melissa sighed and set her phone down. It was starting to get dark out and the October air was getting chiller by the minute. All she wanted was to cuddle up in bed with Doug and all the fluffy blankets she owned. She didn’t mind camping but she wasn’t prepared for it, that was all. She barely even knew how to start a fire. She should’ve paid more attention when she was a girl scout. She got snapped out of her thoughts when she received a text from none other than Doug. She picked up her phone to read it, now taking notice of the battery that was slowly running out. She probably should be worried but if this really was the apocalypse, she wouldn’t have a use for it in a few days.

  
  


Doug → Melissa

i’m not mad about that

Doug → Melissa

i’m not mad about anything

Doug → Melissa

i’m just sad that you ran away from me

Doug → Melissa

we’re supposed to be a team, baby

  
  


Melissa bit her lip. She could tell this was just going to be one big guilt trip. 

  
  


Melissa → Doug

once again

Melissa → Doug

you attacked me

Melissa → Doug 

and told rob to attack me

Melissa → Doug

sorry, but i’m a sane person that stays away from people literally trying to hurt me

  
  


Doug → Melissa

i wasn’t trying to hurt you!

  
  


Melissa → Doug

you literally said you were!

  
  


Melissa expected another text back but was instead met by her phone ringing and Doug’s contact name and photo right in the middle of the screen. She knew answering would be a bad idea but her instinct to always answer Doug took over and she pressed the answer button. Damnit.

_ “Babe! Where did you go? I’ve been worried sick about you!” _

Melissa huffed. “Doug, I’m not gonna tell you where I am. Mostly because I’d rather not be attacked. Again!”

_ “Mel, baby, I don’t want to attack you! You gave me no other choice.” _

“No, Doug, you had a lot of choices, the only right one being to not attack your girlfriend! What the hell is going through your head?!” Melissa was somehow getting more frustrated than she already was. She just wanted things to be normal again.

_ “I just want you to be happy, baby. Is that too much to ask?” _

“Word of advice, attacking me is not the way to make me hap-” She was cut off by a loud noise above her. She looked up. It seemed to be a helicopter and there was some military guy hanging off who looked like he was getting ready to jump. Huh.

_ “Was that a helicopter?”  _ Doug sounded more frantic after that. Weird.

“Um. . .yeah, a military helicopter, I think.” She paused. “Wait, that’s not what we were talk-”

_ “Sorry, baby, gotta go.”  _ Melissa couldn’t even get out another word before Doug hung up. She didn’t know if she should be relieved or offended. But either way, she was crying. The stresses of the day was finally getting to her and she couldn’t help it. She just wanted to at home with Doug and have her normal life back. She knew Hatchetfield was weird, but it wasn’t supposed to be this weird. 

She stayed crying on and off like that for hours. It was dark and almost 11 o’clock at the point when she was finally able to fully calm herself down. She had heard so many helicopters coming into town during her time just sitting there. It scared her. She didn’t know what was happening. But at 11:02 pm she heard one fly but then she heard the blades stop and about then a large and destructive crash. That was terrifying. She wasn’t close to it at all but it still scared the hell out of her. That wasn’t normal.

Just as her heart stopped pounding from the crash, she heard one bang coming from the direct center of town. It sounded like an explosion. She didn’t know what it meant, she just hoped it meant this would be all over when she woke up in the morning. If she even slept at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooooo not my best writing but okay! hope you enjoyed reading!


	5. Still on the island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four weeks later. Paul is the king of the hive and has Doug out looking for Melissa, the last human in Hatchetfield. All Melissa has to do is get enough supplies to not die while she lives in the forest. It doesn't exactly go to plan though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nothing too violent in this chapter, though there is a baseball bat hit at the very end.

Melissa had been living in the forest for a month now. It was official that nothing was nor ever would be normal now. She hadn’t taken a shower since the morning this all started. She just wanted to go home. She couldn’t even stay in the same place for more than a few days at the most because she constantly heard Doug and their old friends looking for her specifically. It was terrifying. Today was a supply day though. She had to sneak into town without getting caught and get her supplies so she could survive the slowly cooling weather and get enough food to not starve. It was scarier than being looked for because the town was completely taken over by the infected and the military constantly had squads coming into town to try and destroy the infection. It never worked. 

Melissa sat at the edge of the forest, checking to make sure the coast was clear. It seemed to be good. Today she was raiding the Lakeside mall to get some clothes and blankets for the winter months ahead. She didn’t know if she’d ever get off the island so she wanted to be prepared. Plus, maybe if she got some more cozy stuff sleeping wouldn’t be completely impossible. That had definitely been an issue.

She gripped her bat and bag and quietly snuck in the back door of the mall, letting out a sigh of relief when no one was waiting for her inside. She snuck around the large building, doing a variety of tasks. She started up with going into the bathroom and cleaning herself up a bit. She looked like an absolute mess. She washed all the dirt off her face and arms so she at least resembled a normal person. Her hair was a lost cause. She didn’t even bother with that. With that done, she snuck back out into the main part of the mall and walked down the deserted halls of the mall. It was so quiet it made her uncomfortable. She missed the comforting sounds of being in her apartment. Like the dishwasher running or the TV on low volume while she cooked. She wanted that back. 

She shook those thoughts out of her head and entered the Hatchetfield Macy’s. Or what was left of it at this point. She just knew there would be blankets and clothes and whatever other things she would need in here. She could do this. It was easy. She walked around the store, grabbing some winter attire and warm blankets that she would definitely need, stuffing it all into her bag. That would work wonderfully. She was just on her way to check if they had anything like a sleeping bag when she heard another voice though. A familiar one. Shit.

“Oh, Melly, there you are! We’ve been looking for you for weeks!”

Melissa flipped around, dropping her bag and using both hands to grip her bat. That was Doug. Her Doug. She had never thought about what she’d do in this situation. She just had hoped that it would never come. “Doug, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you, Mel. I was worried about you. Camping out in the forest for a month straight can’t be easy. I just wanna take you home.” They tried to step forward towards her but Melissa just jumped right back. Of course.

“I don’t want to go home. I want to get off this stupid island with my life.” She paused. The next thing she said would be painful. “Without you.” Melissa pushed back any vulnerability she was feeling. She had to accept the fact that Doug was dead despite hearing their voice calling for her in the forest during their hunts or in her dreams while she slept. If she even managed to sleep. It became a billion times harder to think that way when they were standing right in front of her though.

Doug furrowed their eyebrows. They always knew when Melissa was hurting. They could use this. “Oh, Mel, don’t think like that.” They stepped towards her, this time actually managing to close some distance. Just in case she did have Rob hiding behind a rack of clothes. She might still put up a fight. “You just want things to be normal, right? They can be. I can take you home. Back to our apartment, back to our bed, and all our coziest things. You know you won’t survive the winter out in the forest. Just come home with me.” Doug had managed to get a lot closer while they spoke. Just what they wanted.

Melissa hesitated. Maybe singing wasn’t so bad. Maybe. “I. . .” She looked them over, taking a second to remember why she didn’t want to go with them. Oh yeah. Death. She shook her head. “No, no, no, I- I’m not going with you! Just leave me alone.” She took a step back, but this time it was right into Rob’s arms. She was so caught off guard that she barely even registered anything before her bat hit the floor and she had her arms pinned behind her back. “Ow, ow, ow, what the hell?!” She tried to free her arms but to no avail, and she knew she couldn’t put up much of a fight right now. End of the line.

Doug grinned. Yes, much better. “Finally. The last full human in Hatchetfield. We’re gonna have some fun with you.” They took Melissa’s chin in their hand so she’d look at them. That’s her girl. “Don’t worry, Mel. Soon all your pain will go away. You’ll be one of us.”

“What’s gonna happen to me?”

“The current plan is to take you back to the center of town and infect you. But the king might want to have some fun with you first. His word is the law.”

“Paul’s word is the law? Interesting choice of leadership.” She immediately regretted saying that. Rob’s grip tightened, pushing a whimper of pain out of Melissa. That shit hurt. Thankfully, Doug still hated seeing Melissa in unnecessary pain just as much as they always had so her suffering was short-lived.

“Rob, I told you not to hurt her!”

Rob loosened his grip and Melissa let out a sigh of relief. “Sorry! She was being mean!”

Doug rolled her eyes. “Calm and collected, Rob. Come on. Let’s get this one back to the Starlight.”

Melissa’s eyes widened. She didn’t know why but she wasn’t expecting this to actually happen. Shit. “What? No, no, no, there’s no way I’m going to the Starlight. They’ll kill me! Literally!”

Doug sighed. “You’re being reborn, not killed. Now, are you really gonna try to put up a fight this whole time, baby?”

Melissa struggled a bit in Rob’s grip, which of course made him tighten his grip though this time Doug didn’t stop it. “I’m sure as hell gonna try.”

Doug picked up Melissa’s baseball bat that she had been keeping in case she got in a fight. The last thing she saw was Doug swinging the bat towards her before suddenly, everything went black

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pretty mediocre chapter, but it was fun to write. hope you enjoyed it!


	6. Concussion cuties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa wakes up in some locked room and her head is absolutely pounding. Thankfully, Doug is able to soothe some of the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doug might be trying to kill her but I needed something cute to write so this happened okAY

When Melissa woke up the first thing she noticed was how much her head hurt. She barely remembered what happened but she knew it was Doug. She brought her hand up to rub her head, letting out a groan. She had never had a concussion before but she was pretty sure that she had one now. She tried to sit up but immediately decided that was a bad idea and relaxed back down. She didn’t know what she was laying on. Probably a cot of some sort. She just knew that it was comfortable enough for her to stay on it a while. 

She laid there for what felt like both 5 minutes and 5 hours before she heard a door click open. It unsurprisingly locked again but she knew she wasn’t alone anymore. Footsteps were moving towards her. She was sure she’d just get dragged away and probably tortured before they finally killed and infected her. She didn’t have any means to fight them off right now so she’d just let them. 

She was pretty surprised when that didn’t happen though. In fact, the exact opposite happened. She felt something cold get placed on her head. Definitely an ice pack. She moved her hand to her head with the thought of pushing it away but instead she found the hand that was holding the ice pack on her head. She was pretty sure it was Doug’s but she was somewhat delusional at the moment so she wasn’t sure. She could ask though.

“. . .Doug?” She mumbled, sounding at the very least extremely exhausted. She felt exhausted.

“In the flesh,” Doug spoke quietly. They knew she was in a lot of pain and they weren’t about to put her through anymore if they didn’t have to.

Melissa’s eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. The ice pack was really working wonders at the moment but she didn’t want Doug there. She weakly attempted to push Doug’s hand away from her. It didn’t really work. “No, no, I- I don’t want this.” She whined. Doug wouldn’t budge though. 

“Mel, you’re hurt. You need to start recovering.”

“I wouldn’t be hurt if it wasn’t for you.” She mumbled, her arm going limp on the bed. She’d fight again. Just not today. “Why’d you do that? Why couldn’t you just leave me be?”

“Because you were trying to camp out in the forest while it was nearing winter. You would die of hypothermia before anything else if you stayed out there much longer.” Doug stroked her hair which Melissa absolutely loved but also absolutely hated all at the same time. “I needed to get you somewhere warm and it just so happened that that included a baseball bat. I didn’t plan it.”

Melissa did her best to listen to what Doug was saying but her ears were ringing and it was getting distracting. She picked up on most of it though. “I’d much rather die of hypothermia on my own accord rather than get murdered by my friends.” She huffed.

“No one is going to murder you. You’ll just have a nice blue drink that will upgrade your life.”

Melissa rolled her eyes a bit. “Mhm. . .upgrade my life. Which actually means kill me.”

“Not at all. But let’s not dwell on that.” Doug moved so they were sat on the bed with Melissa’s head in their lap. She didn’t even try to protest. At least she’d be more comfortable before she got murdered. “How are you feeling, Mel?”

“Exhausted, dizzy, nauseous, foggy. Overall just really bad.”

Doug went back to stroking Melissa’s hair. It always helped. “I see. I think you need some rest, Mel. Here.” They reached over and grabbed a blanket before spreading it out over Melissa. “I brought you your blanket from home. Thought it might help you sleep.”

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows a bit, her arms bundling up the blanket so she could hug it. At least Doug was still thoughtful. “Thank you.” She reluctantly mumbled.

“Good. Now go to sleep. We can talk more when you’re feeling better.” 

Melissa cuddled up as best as she could. Life almost felt normal again. She had her blanket and Doug taking care of her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to help it much longer so she let her need to actually sleep tug her away. Just as she fell into her rest, she just barely heard Doug humming an eerie song. A nice reminder that life still wasn’t normal just as she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one chapter of fluff. but here's a little spoiler, I /think/ there might be some more fluff at the end. we shall see. thanks for reading!


	7. The army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> melissa's just trying to chill but the army is ruining those plans. it's definitely not all bad though

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are guns but none get shot like in the room I guess? she just hears them that's all. also, syringes are a thing at the end

Melissa had been in this locked room for nearly a week. Pretty sure. Her concussion messed up her sense of time for a day or two but she was pretty sure. She still hadn’t been infected yet, in fact, it seemed that Doug had gone out of their way to do the opposite. They had brought her food and water and painkillers for her head. Melissa had a feeling it was just so she’d trust them again but she’d rather not starve so she took what she was given. 

There hadn’t been a day where Doug hadn’t come and sat with her while she recovered. Today was no different. Melissa sat comfortably, leaning back against Doug’s chest as they quietly hummed an eerie tune. The humming made Melissa wildly uncomfortable but she was way too scared to tell them to stop. So, there she sat, with her partner whom she had considered dead for weeks. They were still dead. She had to keep reminding herself of that.

Today had felt as normal as it could feel considering the situation. Except one for one interesting thing. There were more gunshots outside. There were always gunshots outside from when the army came in to try and take down the infection but today there were more and they were getting closer. It was tense. She just prayed that she wouldn’t get shot today.

She sat in Doug’s arms until there was a large bang just below them. That didn’t sound good. Doug immediately perked up and pushed her off of them. “I don’t know what that was but I’m not letting it get in here. Stay here, and be quiet.” Doug was already on their feet at that point and Melissa was sitting up against the wall. This whole day was going haywire.

“What? What’s happening?” Melissa looked concerned. Doug probably had plans to kill her but she was still worried about them. Weird. 

“I think the army’s here. I don’t want them finding you so stay silent.” Doug shot her a look before rushing out the door, making sure it was locked behind them. As per usual.

Melissa sighed and carefully laid herself back down. She would probably be there for a while. She had a secret hope that some general or something would find her and get her off this dumb island. That chance was slim though. She would probably just stay in this dumb little room as she had for the past week with her head still hurting and her ability to walk still questionable. So there she sat, doing her best to not get too excited by the possibility of leaving the island.

She sat for a while, hearing more gunshots and possibly small explosions from other parts of the building. The noises were getting closer though and it was making her headache worse. It didn’t get too bad until she heard fighting just outside. Doug had probably been out at the door, trying to make sure that no one got in and took her or something. Melissa didn’t care at this point, she just wanted it to be quiet again. All hope for that went completely out the window when the door literally got kicked down. Her head was pounding at that point.

She looked over, not too surprised to see two army members, gens in hand and both pointing at her. Then one of them started yelling. That wasn’t nice. 

“On your feet!”

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows. She knew that wasn’t happening. She slowly sat up and put her hands in the air. She knew that was as far as she could go but the soldiers didn’t seem too happy with that. 

“I said on your feet!” This time they were louder, which Melissa did not like. 

“Ow, fucking. . .” She grumbled. “My ability to stand is questionable, okay? I have a concussion, Jesus.”

The soldiers looked at each other, lowering their guns. No infected would ever say Jesus. “You’re still human, aren’t you?”

“The last one in Hatchetfield.”

One of the soldiers went over and started examining her. She was definitely still human. “We’re gonna get you off the island, ma’am.” They started pulling out a syringe.

“Wait, really?” Melissa was suddenly very excited until she felt something get poked in her arm. Not appreciated. “What’s that? What the. . .” She felt herself go limp in the soldiers' arms just before everything went black. Again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoooooo she had to get to safety somehow!!! hope you enjoyed it!


	8. Safe yet confused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melissa is off the island and safe with the military. She becomes a human experiment and learns what her life will be if they can't find a cure to this infection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> she gets blood drawn but it's just mentioned! that might be triggering

The next time Melissa was fully conscious, she was in a hospital bed. Her head still hurt but less than the last time she was knocked unconscious. That’s a plus. She slowly looked around, starting to notice the several machines she was hooked up to. At least she wasn’t dead. She looked around more and noticed several doctors and scientists in the corner talking about her and her case. She didn’t want to bother them so she just leaned back into her bed with a sigh. This was the first time she had been in a real bed in a month at least and she wasn’t letting it go to waste.

She sat quietly for a few minutes before one of the doctors finally noticed she was awake. Thank god. “Oh, she’s awake!” The doctor went to her side, the rest of the group closely following. “How are you feeling?”

“Um. . .” Melissa hesitated. She had never been in a room with a bunch of people all wanting to just ask her questions. “My head still hurts, and I still feel a little foggy. How long was I out?”

“Three days.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

The entire group ignored the concerned tone in her voice and one of the scientists got right down to business. “So, you were found a captive of the hive. You have a concussion which we assume is from them. The most interesting part though is that you have traces of the spores in your bloodstream, but it’s not enough to infect you. If you let us have a blood sample we might be able to come up with a cure.”

Melissa raised her eyebrows. She could work with that deal. “If it means there might be a cure then yes, please, take my blood. I want this to be over.” She offered them her arm. She was ready.

One of them nodded, immediately turning to give instructions. “Alright, you, go get the tools for the blood draw. You three, go set up the lab. You, go get the colonel. And you, check on her concussion. Break!” All of them immediately ran off in separate directions while the one came to check on Melissa’s head. That only took a few minutes though. Soon enough, she had someone come in and take her blood. She hated the feeling but if this worked it would be more than worth it. 

With all of the medical stuff out of the way, Melissa laid back in her bed, pretty much ready to go back to sleep again. Her plans of rest were of course spoiled by a very official-looking woman walking into her room. It was only slightly threatening. She entered with confidence, a folder in her hand. Melissa wasn’t in the mood to talk but she definitely didn’t have a choice in the matter. So she sucked it up and got ready to either be lectured or asked more questions.

“Good day, Rachel. My name is Colonel Schaffer. Happy to see you’re awake and well.” 

Melissa looked confused. Her name wasn’t Rachel, that’s for sure. “Um. . .thank you? My name is Melissa though. Do you have the wrong room or something?”

The colonel shook her head. “No, ma’am, I do not. See, if we cannot get this infection fully contained and exterminated, we can’t have the public knowing about it, and in turn, we can’t have them knowing there are any survivors. It would cause too much chaos. There are already arrangements made for you. We have a new identity for you here.” She handed Melissa the folder, which she immediately started digging through. “As soon as you’re healed up, we’ll escort you to your new home. And if the infection gets eliminated, you’ll be free to go back to your old life in Hatchetfield.”

Melissa furrowed her eyebrows. She had a lot of objections to that. “But what about if only half the population gets cured? Then what do I do?”

“Melissa Clarke will be officially dead and you’ll live your life as Rachel Smith.”

“What about my friends and family? What if that happens but they’re survivors? How do I find them?”

“Leave that to us. We’ll make sure you reconnect with your family, ma’am.” Melissa nodded. She was still uncertain about this plan but it was clear she didn’t have a choice in the matter. “Good day, Rachel. And make sure to study those papers. We don’t want people finding out about this.”

Melissa nodded and gave the woman a small wave. This might be the weirdest thing that had happened this whole time. And she had basically been kidnapped.

She dug through her folder, finding a passport with all her new information, papers confirming that she had a house in Portland waiting for her, a new driver's license, and of course a whole essay about what was supposedly her life now. She was left wondering how they got the pictures for the driver’s license and passport, and if they just had identities ready to be handed out. She’d probably never know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whooooo eight chapters! can you see where I'm going with this yet lol. thanks for reading!


	9. Thank god

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHOOOO APOTHEOSIS IS OVER AND DOUG AND MELISSA REUNITE. that's about it tbh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoooo cuties reuniting. i don't think there's anything triggering here except for hospitals?

Melissa sat impatiently in a hospital waiting room. It had been two months since she had been free to go from the hospital and she had been living her life as Rachel Smith ever since. She was the first one with spores in her blood to get fully cured and since then, she had been in Portland, watching her mail for a notification that said her family or friends or even anyone had come out alive. She knew she was only supposed to get notified for a blood-related family member but she had very specifically asked to be notified when Doug came through. Thankfully, they remembered and that’s what she waited for now. Doug. She just wanted to hug them.

Her knee bounced up and down and she looked stressed while she waited. The other people in the waiting room gave her weird looks. They obviously were at the hospital for more normal things than she was. Melissa couldn’t bring herself to care though. She would finally get to see Doug again, and this time they wouldn’t be attacking her.

After what felt like hours of waiting, a nurse came out and called her new name. “Rachel Smith?” Melissa didn’t respond for a second. She forgot that was her. “Oh! That’s me, right.” She stood herself up, ready to follow. “Can I see them?”

The nurse nodded, starting to lead her down a hall to the back of the hospital. “Yes, you can. They just woke up and they’re a bit confused so you might have to explain a few things to them.” The nurse opened up a door for her. “They’re right in there.”

Melissa smiled at the nurse before walking in. There they were. The love of her life. No more blue in their eyes, no more murderous motivations. They were just staring back at her. 

Melissa had no self-control so she immediately swung her arms around them. She couldn’t tell if she was going to cry or not but either way, there were a lot of emotions right now and she didn’t know what to do with them.

Doug hugged her back but was more than confused by what was going one. “Um, Mel, is everything okay? And how did I get here?”

Melissa pulled away just enough so she could look at them. “Doug, what’s the last thing that you remember before you woke up here?”

Doug looked even more confused by that question. Huh. “Um. . .I had to leave home to go help out at the Starlight when the meteor landed there. And- and then there was something blue and after that is just blurs. What happened?”

Melissa was shocked. They really didn’t remember anything. “Doug, that was over four months ago. You never came home that night.”

Doug looked more confused now. That couldn’t be right. “What? Did I get hurt on the job? Was I in a coma or something?”

“Well. . .the human part of you was.” Melissa sat on the bed. This was going to be interesting. “You were infected. The blue thing you saw? That was from the meteor. Whoever ingested it in any way became part of this, um, hive thing? So, you probably breathed in the spores when you were evacuating people from the building. The next time I saw you you came to visit me at work the next morning, you and Rob both attacked me so I ran. After that, I spent weeks camping out in the forest. All you wanted to do was find me and kill me so I’d join the hive too. You found me eventually and you gave me a really horrible concussion with a baseball bat. You didn’t infect me though. Instead, you kept me captive while you took care of me and infected me slowly. Before I was infected enough to show signs of it, the military found me and took me off the island. The only reason they were able to make a cure was because of the spores in my bloodstream. Ever since I was released I’ve been living in Portland as Rachel Smith and just waiting to get the call that you had gone through the system and were human again. Only took two months.” She sighed. That was a lot and she knew it. Her dreams were madness. But Doug deserved to know.

Doug sat in shock for a moment. None of that sounded like anything that either of them would do. “Mel, I-. . .” They didn’t even have words. “Are you okay? Am I okay? What?”

Melissa laughed a bit. “I’m fine, Doug. Thankfully, getting hit over the head with a baseball bat didn’t have any long term effects. I definitely have some trauma but really, I’m fine.” She squeezed their hand. Thank god they were back. 

“Okay, then you’re definitely not fine.” They immediately pulled Melissa as close as they could. Cuddles were always a good solution. “Mel, I am so sorry I did all those things to you.”

Melissa held them close, taking in all the warmth that she could. She missed this like crazy. “Hey, don’t worry, it’s okay. Everything’s gonna be okay now. Just don’t be scared if I accidentally punch you in my sleep. It happens a lot.” She looked up at them.

Doug laughed a bit, holding her a bit tighter. “That’s my little fighter.” They kissed her forehead. 

“Oh, shush, all I did was hide. Apparently, you’re not all that good at searching though because you didn’t find me till I was out in the open and low on energy.” She nudged them a bit, obviously just teasing.

“Damn, all my training really failed me. Probably a good thing though.” They started stroking Melissa’s hair. It was a move both of them took comfort in, even though only one of them retained the trauma. “What was it even like when I found you? What did I say?”

Melissa shrugged. “You had been worried about me, scared I wouldn’t survive out in the forest by myself. Rob jumped out from behind and grabbed me before I could run. I remember you grabbing my baseball bat but that’s all that’s there before I woke up with the worst headache I’ve ever experienced.”

Doug frowned. Their entire goal was to make sure no one hurt her and now they were hearing they had hurt her more than anyone. At least it was over. “I’m so sorry, Mel. You shouldn't have gone through that, especially when you were alone. I’ll make it up to you. Promise.”

Melissa shook her head. “You don’t have to make it up to me. The fact that you’re alive is enough for me.” She pressed a small kiss to their cheek. “But speaking of home. . .you wanna get out of here?”

Doug nodded. “Yes, very much so.” And just like that, they were both hopping out of bed and checking out as fast as they could. All they wanted to do was go home together and soon, they’d be there. Just the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter to go fam and its gonna be a doozy


	10. The end of an era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for syringes and a bit of physical fighting but nothing graphic at all!

Three months later and Hatchetfield was nearly back to normal. The last sign that remained of the apocalypse that occurred was the construction site where the Starlight used to be. Everyone agreed that they didn’t need it anymore since most people in town couldn’t stand to listen to musicals anymore.

Melissa finally felt like herself again. She was back at her old job with her friends and she was back in her apartment with the love of her life. Life was normal. She had the same routine and she didn’t have to worry about her partner trying to kill her nor the troubles of a month-long, impromptu camping trip. She was just living her best life. She was happy. Everything was fine.

One night, she laid in bed, not able to sleep. Something was off but she couldn’t figure out what. She had Doug behind her with their arms wrapped around her, she had her fluffiest blanket, she even had earplugs in. She couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t till she took her earplugs out did she hear it. Doug was humming one of the tunes from the hivemind. That immediately sent Melissa into a panic. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

She shot out of bed faster than she ever had before and made a run for the door. Before she could reach it though, she felt someone grab her wrist and pull her back. She knew it was Doug. There wasn’t anything she could do.

“What? Did you think you’d get rid of us that easily, sweetheart?” They pulled Melissa closer.

Melissa already had tears flowing down her face. She couldn’t do this again. She couldn’t. “No no no, you’re supposed to be gone! You- you were gone!”

“Funny thing about that cure. It only got rid of the spores in the bloodstream, leaving the infection dormant while we waited for the perfect time to strike. And look, little Melissa, too scared to fight back. Looks like I’ve found a good time. But it’s alright, love. This time you won’t suffer.”

Doug tugged her closer but went a little too fast for Melissa’s shaking legs and she collapsed into a mess of tears and short breaths. 

They sat down on the floor next to Melissa, running a hand through her hair. “Take a breath, Mel, everything will be fine. Just hold still for me.” They pressed a kiss to her head while they grabbed her arm tight and pulled out a syringe full of blue shit.

Melissa pulled back and she pulled back fast, just barely managing to free her arm from Doug’s grip. She couldn’t do this. “No- no, you are not sticking that thing in me!” She cried. Though Doug already had a counter-plan. They immediately tackled Melissa to the floor. She tried to fight back but Doug proved to be stronger than her by a lot. By the end of it, Melissa was on the floor with Doug on top, pinning her arms down with their legs. All she could do was beg that they stop.

“No, Doug! This isn’t you! Stop-” She was promptly cut off by a hand pressing down over her mouth. 

“Mel, just calm down. Everything is going to be fine.” They smiled at her before injecting the contents of the syringe directly into Melissa’s arm, all while she screamed under Doug’s hand.

Melissa struggled the whole time, but she felt the fight inside of her slowly extinguishing as the infection spread through her body. Then suddenly. . .everything was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's how this story ends! thank you for reading!


End file.
